Support added for HART® devices and wireless I/O to Foundation for ROM technology

Frankfurt, Germany, June 19, 2012 — The Fieldbus Foundation, conducting a press briefing at ACHEMA 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany, today announced that an updated version of its Foundation technical specifications is now available for immediate implementation. The latest release addresses key elements of Foundation for Remote Operations Management (ROM) technology, which enables manufacturers to begin developing Foundation for ROM devices. Specifications have been added for transducer blocks for both wired and WirelessHART® devices.

The Fieldbus Foundation’s Foundation for ROM solution offers a unified digital infrastructure for asset management in a wide range of remote applications, from oil and gas pipelines to tank farms and offshore platforms, and even OEM skid mounted equipment. The technology enables fieldbus connectivity to remote I/O and the leading industrial wireless protocols, including WirelessHART and ISA100.11a. It provides an interface to these wireless technologies and uses Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) and function blocks to ensure interoperability with Foundation for ROM devices. The Remote I/O (RIO) portion of the specification was released in April of last year and allows for connectivity of large point count remote I/O to Foundation fieldbus. The foundation is now pleased to launch the HART and WirelessHART specification for ROM.

Foundation for ROM is the first example of the capability of integrating ISA 100.11a, WirelessHART, wired Hart, and wired H1 protocols into a single standard environment, without sacrificing the diagnostic capabilities of the existing wireless devices. Those capabilities are mapped into the block structure to provide a standard environment for data management, quality, and more, eliminating today's solutions which are highly customized and much more costly to maintain throughout the plant lifecycle. In addition, with Foundation for ROM, industrial operations can implement a true predictive and proactive maintenance strategy for remote assets that could not previously support one. Data from devices on multiple networks, both wired and wireless, are tightly integrated into the Foundation fieldbus infrastructure, providing a single environment for management of diagnostic data, alarms and alerts, data quality, control in the field capability, and object oriented block structure.

Foundation fieldbus provides an all-digital communication infrastructure for process automation, with powerful multivariable measurement capabilities, powerful device diagnostics, and the ability to integrate wireless devices across multiple networks. The block structure of Foundation fieldbus is unique, and provides true distributed functionality for implementing control in the field, improved data management, and alarm and alert management.

Within the Foundation automation architecture, the H1 (31.25 kbit/s) and HSE (100 Mbit/s) fieldbus networks provide a distributed function block capability with HSE serving as a larger pipeline with increased speed and throughput. The Foundation for ROM solution expands these capabilities by establishing open, non-proprietary specifications for an interface to wireless field device networks, a wired HSE backhaul, and a wireless HSE backhaul integrating various wireless sensor networks such as WiFi, satellite, cellular, etc. As part of this solution, Foundation for ROM provides a way to bring large concentrations of discrete and analog field I/O back to the control room using HSE communication. This is key to improved integration of critical functional areas, including machinery health monitoring, safety interlocks, fire & gas detection systems, and video surveillance.

Fieldbus Foundation members with up-to-date license agreements can download a complete copy of the latest Foundation fieldbus technical specifications from Fieldbus Forums on the foundation’s End User Resources website section. To purchase or update a license agreement, please e-mail
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For more information about Foundation fieldbus specifications and maintenance agreement options, please visit the Specifications page of www.fieldbus.org.

About the Fieldbus Foundation

The Fieldbus Foundation is a global not-for-profit corporation consisting of leading process end users and automation companies. Within the Fieldbus Foundation, end users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations work together to develop an automation infrastructure that allows you to view your process in high definition; manage information effectively; and optimize people, processes and technology. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.fieldbus.org.